The Way Their Hearts Now Beat
by lost-in-time19
Summary: HermioneDraco fic. My favorite! : Rated M just to be safe. All reviews welcome, but please go easy on me! After 6 long years of bickering at Hogwarts, things are finally about to change...
1. Prologue

**The Way Their Hearts Now Beat**

**Prologue**

No one saw it coming.

He was the most hated amongst them all.

He met the girl that would change him, yet he ignored all the sweet gestures and kind remarks.

She soon gave up. She fought back and hated him with the help of her two best friends. It wasn't that hard for her to join in on insults and pranks when her friends hated him as well. But, in the end, it never made her feel any better to stoop down to their level.

That wasn't a problem because it all soon changed.

He didn't know it at the time, but Draco Malfoy was going to find the love of his life in the least expected person no matter how much he tried to deny it.

She, of course, would deny it as well. Hermione Granger had no reason to think someone like _Malfoy_ would ever be compatible with her.

She was sadly mistaken.

And here is there tale...

* * *

A/N: Oook. So this is the very first part of my story... sorry it's not that great but this _is_ my first fic and I just don't know where to start! I'm kinda just going on instinct. But all reviews are welcome. I would really like some feedback on it so that I know what to do and what not to do. So please review!!!

I also want to write what you guys want. So if you don't tell me, I can't deliver :-)

Until next time,

- Miss Lost in Time-


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Hermione woke with a start. Her alarm had just gone off. She searched for the sound of the clock for her head was pounding with the constant ringing of the alarm. She found it and closed her eyes again.

Today she was going to the Burrow to meet with her best friends Ron and Harry. She missed them terribly. She knew Harry was going to go his own way after the death of their Headmaster, Dumbledore, and she made it her mission to start putting some sense into his head. She and Ron had already talked about their meeting with Harry and how they were going to go about persuading him to go back to Hogwarts.

She sighed. _Poor Harry, _she thought. _No loved one was safe from Voldemort's wrath._

Her thoughts were suddenly disturbed by a sudden pressure near the foot of her bed. Crookshanks had just joined her. Hermione smiled as she scratched the back of her cat's ear.

"Well, I guess I should start getting dressed now," she finally said.

Minutes later she went downstairs for breakfast.

"Mornin' Mum and Dad," she greeted her parents.

"Mornin' sweetheart" said her mother. Her dad was so engrossed in his newspaper, he only grunted.

She ate breakfast silently except for the small talk made with her parents.

They didn't exactly know what had been going on in the wizarding world. Hermione had conveniently left most of that information out when talking about her year at Hogwarts. She knew they would go through the roof if they knew her best friend was going to drop out of school in search of the most powerful wizard known to mankind and that she had been involved in an unbelievably dangerous battle with wizards twice her age at the end of the year. She mentioned fighting, the death of her headmaster, and Death Eaters at her school, but she left out a lot.

She finished her breakfast and went upstairs to finish packing.

By the time she was done, it was already time for lunch. After eating a sandwich, she sent out an owl to the Weasleys letting them know she was going to get there soon.

She kissed her mom and dad goodbye and with Crookshanks and her trunk in hand, she screamed, "The Burrow!" into the fireplace and disappeared into the flames.

* * *

Miles away, a pop could be heard in Malfoy Manor. Lucius Malfoy had just apparated into his living room.

"Good evening Master," said Hinky, the Malfoy's house elf. After the incident in Draco's second year where Dobby was set free, Lucius had to get a new house elf. Hinky wasn't as old as Dobby but Lucius kept a very close eye on her and had his other two house elves keep an eye on her too. The Malfoys each had a house elf, which would have made Hermione cringe.

Lucius raised an eyebrow at Hinky. "Bring Draco to me," he said.

He had news about the Dark Lord to discuss with him.

Earlier in the evening he had felt the familiar burning of the Dark Mark. He had immediately apparated to the Dark Lord's side. There, he had bowed down and held his head down as he waited for further instruction.

Voldemort then proceeded to tell him of his son's newest mission: To get close to Harry Potter. He had the choice of being "friendly" or just getting Harry to him when he requested it.

Lucius had been surprised at the fact that the Dark Lord had even given his son a choice, but he didn't complain.

"Yes, father," Draco interrupted his thoughts.

"Draco," Lucius said. "I have news about the Dark Lord."

Draco's heart sank. His face slightly paled, but he quickly recovered.

He forced a smirk. "What does He want, father?"

"Let's go to my den first," Lucius said.

* * *

Hermione was greeted by flashes of red hair coming to hug her.

"Hermione!" screamed Ginny. "How are you?"

"Shtugglin to beeth," muffled Hermione.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she laughed. "I'm just so happy to see you."

"I know, it's ok!" said Hermione. "I'm happy to see you too."

"Hey 'Mione," Ron said a little shyly.

"I've missed you Ron," she said while hugging him. He stiffened a little but hugged her back. She saw that coming, though. Everyone and their parents knew Ron fancied her. She, on the other hand, had outgrown his mixed signals and shyness. She had decided to move on.

While she was at home, she had become very close to her neighbor, Thomas. He was sweet and they had spent lots of time together. They had even shared a kiss.

After that encounter, things got a bit awkward between them and they would spend less time together because he always wanted to kiss her. She felt like some sort of _object_. It made her feel dirty.

She snapped out of her daze. Ginny helped her with her trunk and they headed to her room.

The little crowded room was girly and small. Hermione had to squeeze to get from one end of the room to the other, but it had a homely feel. The whole house was easily the most comfortable place in the world.

"Harry hasn't gotten here yet, has he?" asked Hermione.

"Oh no, I think he's going to be here by suppertime," answered Ginny. "I think he owled earlier, but I don't remember. You should ask Mum or Ron, they'd know for sure."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to ask Ron. I should probably go say hi while I'm at it," said Hermione. "I'll be back."

"Mmk"

Hermione was walking toward Ron's room when she heard a sudden noise. She turned around grabbing the handle of the wand that was in her pocket.

"Boo!"

"Aaaaaaaaah!" screamed Hermione.

"Fred, George!"

"Mum, calm down," said Fred.

"Hermione, calm down," said George.

"Calm down? You two almost gave me a heart attack!" said Hermione.

"Stop being"

"So dramatic," they responded.

She gave them a stern look and said "Well, hello to you too," before she headed to Ron's room.

She knocked on the door before entering his room.

"Hey Ron."

"Oh hey," said Ron.

"Have you talked to Harry?"

"Nah," he said. "He's supposed to be here soon, though. I think he said he was going to see us off to Hogwarts, if we decide to go..."

"Does he really think we'd miss our most important year?!" she asked incredulously.

"Of course not, it's a crazy thought," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing"

"Anyway, it's our most important year! We can't possibly miss it. I miss Dumbledore too, and I also want to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, but we still have learning to do. We could learn something that could help us in destroying him. And we have to build a future for afterward too. I don't know how he can just decide to miss all that."

"Hermione, that's just not as important to him as it is to you. You-Know-Who has been after Harry since he was a baby and he's been running away from him since his first year. And you know how Harry is about money. He's got all that gold at Gringott's, he doesn't need a future."

"Ron! That's crazy. He needs to plan this out and he needs our help to do it," said Hermione as she looked determinately at Ron.

* * *

"Ok, son," said Lucius. "The Dark Lord has decided to put a lot of faith into you and this plan. You cannot, I repeat, _cannot_ mess this up."

"What's the plan father?" Draco tried to look excited, but was having a lot of trouble doing it. He just couldn't go along with another one of the Dark Lord's stupid plans. It was with a magnificent stroke of luck that he pulled the other plan off, and he didn't even want Dumbledore to die. Sure, he despised the old man for his virtuous nature, but he never wished for his death to happen. It was horrible to even think it. He was the only one the Dark Lord ever feared. Now, the wizarding world as they all knew it would be doomed.

"Well, the Dark Lord, as you already know, is very pleased with how the death of Dumbledore turned out. Everything went according to planned."

_Except I wasn't the one who killed Dumbledore, _thought Draco. "I had to comply with his orders," he answered instead.

"I never thought I'd be proud of you but you have definitely honored our name," said Lucius. "But enough of that. I came to tell you about your latest task. You are to befriend the infamous Harry Potter."

"What?!?" said Draco. Even the Dark Lord couldn't be stupid enough to think that was even possible. They had despised each other ever since Harry had decided to turn his invitation for friendship down. Everyone knew it. To try and change all that now was as impossible as trying to give a dragon a pedicure.

"It's the only way Draco," said Lucius firmly. "If you are to bring the Potter boy to the Dark Lord, there is no other alternative."

Draco started thinking quickly. How was he supposed to manage that?

"What if I can think of another way?" said Draco finally.

"By all means, do enlighten me." said Lucius looking slightly amused.

"I'm just saying... If I can think of some other way of getting Potter to Him, can I do it?"

"As long as you don't mess it up. I'm warning you Draco, it's your head on the line."

And with that, he walked off, leaving Draco alone with his own thoughts.

* * *

A knock was suddenly heard, startling both Ron and Hermione. They were both so engrossed in their conversation, they didn't hear footsteps coming toward them.

"Hey guys," said a tired looking Harry.

Hermione ran up to give him a hug. Ron just smiled at him.

"How was you summer Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Dreadful." he said simply.

"Oh," she said looking deflated.

"You look dreadful mate," said Ron chuckling.

"Haha... you'd look dreadful too if you had thought about Voldemort, Horcruxes, and death your whole summer."

"Hey, we've been thinking about that too," said Ron.

"Yeah, we have. And we've also been thinking about how to get you to decide to go back to Hogwarts as well," said Hermione a little cautiously. She knew that wasn't how she should have welcomed him, but the truth was, she had to squash the idea of dropping out of school as soon as possible.

"I guess I couldn't run away from that forever..." said Harry, his anger starting to bubble.

"Harry, I'm only saying this because I care. Ron and I both agree that staying at Hogwarts is the best idea. Where are you going to live if you don't go back?"

"I dunno. I've got plenty of gold to keep me alright for a good amount of time!" Harry was starting to get angry. Did they really think he hadn't already thought about all this? It was all he could think about!

"We know that, Harry. But Hogwarts is the safest place to be. Half the Order is there. And how can you be sure that there aren't any Horcruxes there? It's well known that Voldemort loved Hogwarts. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of them were there." Hermione was having a harder time trying to convince Harry than she thought. Her emotions were taking the best of her.

"Look, I've already thought about all this, ok? I know there could be Horcruxes there, that's what you guys are for." said Harry finally. He saw Ron and Hermione exchange looks. "I'm going to be going other places to look for them, while you guys are at Hogwarts looking as well. That way, we have everything covered."

"Harry, we can't do it without you." surprisingly, it was Ron who said this.

"Ron is right. You're the one with all the luck. Me and Ron would fail miserably if we tried to do it ourselves."

"I'm sure we'd do fine!" defended Ron. "But it would be better with you around, of course," he said to Harry.

"Look, I'm glad you guys are trying to help, but this is my battle. I've got to do this on my own."

"Dumbledore wouldn't want you to do it alone, Harry," said Hermione. And with that she left the room.

* * *

A/N: Well this will have to be it for now. I'm really on a roll though, and I like how this story is turning out. I'll try not to make it so cliched. I know that always annoys me. lol. And I'll try to update as soon as possible, too.

Toodles,

-Miss Lost in Time-


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Draco had been thinking of Voldemort's "ingenious" plan all summer since he had heard about it. There was no way of getting around it. He had tried to find any loophole possible. It was frustrating to think that after six years of making fun of "The-Golden-Boy" he had to somehow become his best mate. It was outrageous. Absolutely outrageous.

He had also thought about trying to get close to the other oafs, Granger and the Weasel, but that was an even worse thought. The wouldn't buy it, anyway.

Of course, he could always just try and get Potter's mates away and then tell him where they are, but now that Potter thought he had killed his precious Headmaster, he would never believe anything that came out of his mouth. There was no way of telling if he was even going back to Hogwarts. _Oh that would be just great news to bring back to the Dark Lord_, thought Draco.

He got up off of his bed and began to pace around his spacious bedroom. If only someone would just tell him what to do, and how to do it. He'd be fine then. He'd just follow orders, and there would be no way of failing.

_Why on earth do I have to be a Malfoy? _

He stopped. Did he really actually think that? He was supposed to be proud of who he was. He was a pureblooded wizard. There best type of wizard possible.

_But if I wasn't a Malfoy, I wouldn't have to worry about killing anyone or befriending anyone I don't want to befriend_, he thought finally.

He stopped at the window and looked towards the gardens below. There was no doubting that he had the best life possible, financially anyway. His parents didn't really care for him. The only reason he was still alive was to carry the family name. If he had been born a girl his parents would have probably killed him in an instant or would have left him in an attic forgotten.

He looked up. In the distance he could see his eagle holding a letter in his beak.

Draco opened the window of his room and let the eagle in. It dropped the letter neatly on his bed and then was on his way again.

Draco could see the Hogwarts seal on the envelope. His heart slightly sank. He knew this year was his last year, and if he didn't have the Head Boy badge, it would be his head. His father couldn't possibly think he would get to be Head Boy... Could he?

Everyone suspected him of killing Dumbledore, and his father had escaped from Azkaban soon after his death. After all that, he was surely a hated man all around the wizarding world. Not that he knew. He had stayed in Malfoy Manor all summer.

Either way, McGonagall was Headmistress now. She didn't really like him and would clearly pick Potter or some smart Gryffindor and Granger as Head Boy and Girl.

He reached down towards the bed and got the envelope in his hands.

He slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment.

His eyes widened and he dropped everything.

* * *

"Head Girl! I'm Head Girl!" screamed Hermione.

"Oh big surprise there," said Ron.

"Oh shut up Ron," she said. "I need to go owl my parents and tell them the news. I'll be back."

"Can you believe her?" said Ron to Harry, once Hermione was out of earshot. "We all knew she'd become Head Girl, and she still acts like it's a big surprise."

"She's just excited," said Harry. "I wonder who got Head Boy though. I mean, since it's not you."

"Oh who are you kidding? After watching me be a Prefect, McGonagall wasn't going to try and give me the Head Boy position. I was absolutely dreadful," pouted Ron.

"You weren't that bad," tried to assure Harry. The truth was, Ron _was_ dreadful. "You got around alright, didn't you?"

"Yeah, yeah... But I almost figured McGonagall would give Head Boy badge to you."

"Me? Why? I'm not good at anything but Quidditch. And besides, I don't really follow any rules," said Harry.

"Oh right... But you're like everyone's favorite. I just figured..." Ron wasn't exactly sure he should have said that and the look Harry started to give him assured it. "So are you ready for lunch?"

"Yeah, I suppose..." said Harry. He knew Ron was just trying to stay off the subject. He didn't really feel like arguing so he didn't say anything else.

They walked down to the kitchen where Mrs.Weasley was reading the _Weekly Witch_.

"Oh there you two are," she said when she saw them. "Everyone already ate lunch. I was about to go send Ginny to get you."

"Well, no need now," said Ron. "So where's the food? I'm starving."

Mrs.Weasley put the sandwiches on the table and Ron immediately got three.

"Make sure to leave some for Hermione, too. She hasn't had any lunch. Poor dear. She's so excited about being Head Girl, she almost tripped coming down the stairs."

Ron almost choked trying not to laugh.

"Ron!" said Mrs.Weasley. "You leave her alone. At least she got the Head Girl badge. What did you get?"

Ron looked down instead.

Mrs.Weasley shook her head and went upstairs.

"Shesh mento if she tot I wash onna et Ead Boy," said Ron with food in his mouth.

"Don't do that. It's disgusting," said Hermione from the door. She had just finished mailing her letter to her parents.

"Just eat those before I do," said Ron pointing to the plate of food in the middle of the table.

She chuckled and took a bite out of a sandwich.

After they finished eating, they went upstairs.

"We should probably start packing. Hogwarts is in two days, and tomorrow your mom is going to Diagon Alley for books," said Hermione.

"Yeah, I guess... I need to find clean clothes that fit..." said Ron starting to turn red.

Hermione laughed and went to Ginny's room. Ginny went to play Quidditch with Fred and George, so she had the room to herself. That's what she wanted. She was so overwhelmed with the thought of being Head Girl, she just wanted to lay there and think about it.

She knew that the Head Boy and Girl shared headquarters, but all that meant was sharing the common room. For the most part, she had the whole place to herself.

She smiled.

She couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts.

And with that last thought, she laid down and went to sleep.

* * *

"Head Boy...?" said Draco.

It was impossible.

Or could it?

No. He was dreaming. That had to be it.

He pinched himself on the arm and sighed.

It was real.

He picked up the badge and parchment from the floor.

He was definitely Head Boy.

He wasn't really sure if he should be excited or not... Was this some sort of joke? Maybe McGonagall was setting him up. She'd tell him he was Head Boy so he shows up to Hogwarts for sure, and then the Ministry of Magic is there to arrest him.

He went downstairs and called for Hinky. He had to tell his father about this. Not because he was proud to get the position, he could care less, but he had to know if it was safe to go back to Hogwarts. He just always assumed he _was_ going back.

"Yes, master?" said Hinky in her high-pitched voice.

"Call my father. Tell him it's important," said Draco hastily.

Hinky disappeared with a pop and left Draco alone in the hall. This house was so big it was scary. Twenty people could be there and he'd never even know it.

Mr.Malfoy walked down the stairs and stopped to speak to Draco.

"What is it?" he asked.

"This," said Draco simply while handing the badge to his father.

He looked over for a while and then finally looked up

"Well, congratulations," he said finally, giving the badge back to Draco.

"That's it?" asked Draco. He couldn't believe that he wasn't surprised or anything. Why wasn't he giving him any response?!

"Do you want a party or something??" asked Mr.Malfoy.

"What? No! Aren't you surprised or suspicious or anything...?" Draco was trying to look for some sort of realization from his father but none came.

"You have nothing to worry about, Draco," said Mr.Malfoy finally. "Would they reward you if they were suspicious of you?" Draco just looked at him. "No one suspects you of killing Dumbledore. No one knows for sure how it happened. They all think it was Snape, which is perfect because now you can go back to school to spy on Potter and go on with the Dark Lord's plan."

"I suppose you're right," said Draco, unable to leave the thought of being arrested once he got to Hogwarts.

They said nothing more to each other.

He climbed the stairs up to his room.

He was going to start packing.

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm sorry to the readers that I might still have. Hope you all had great holidays though! I've been on vacation and I know it took a long time for me to post this next chapter and it wasn't even long! What a disappointment, I know. The next one will be nice and long, I promise :-)

Happy New Year!

-Miss Lost in Time-


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

In the end, they convinced Harry to go back to Hogwarts. It wasn't because of anything Hermione and Ron said (because all Hermione could do was repeat herself and all Ron could do was tell him he was being daft), but it was because Mr.Weasley got wind of something very interesting...

With all the attention of Snape being a Death Eater, there wasn't anyone who wanted to teach at Hogwarts for the, once again empty position, of Defense Against the Dark Arts for all the Galleons in the world. The only choice Headmistress McGonagall had, was bring someone she completely trusted.

Someone all the kids trusted, even if all the parents didn't.

Someone who _knew_ about the Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Someone like... Professor Lupin.

That somehow calmed Harry and made him want to go back to Hogwarts because he knew he had all the help he needed right there. Even if he wanted to do it all by himself, he needed their help, and he couldn't deny it.

Hermione heaved a great sigh of relief then. He cared about Harry like a brother. She didn't want to lose him in a battle where she wasn't able to be there to help. This almost insured she would be there to keep him out of trouble... or at least she liked to think so. She knew she had no control of Harry when he wanted to do something she thought of as reckless. But at least she could be there for him.

But that was almost a week ago.

Now, she was on the train that would take her back to Hogwarts. She was waiting in the compartment that would reveal the new Head Boy.

She had boarded the train full of excitement. She had immediately walked to the compartment that she had been instructed to go to. There she was told to wait for the Head Boy. She was supposed to be there and hour earlier than everybody else so that both the Head Boy and Girl could be told what to say to the new Prefects.

But the new Head Boy was late. She had been wondering who could possibly have gotten the position. She had a feeling it might be someone from Gryffindor just because Professor McGonagall had been one... but as Headmistress, she couldn't have favorites. So in the end, she concluded it must be someone like Ernie Macmillan who had been a good enough Prefect for Hufflepuff.

The compartment door suddenly opened and Hermione suddenly jumped up and sat up straight.

She didn't expect to see the person that walked in, though.

Remus Lupin.

"Hi Hermione," he said. "I see you made it here earlier than me."

"Professor Lupin! I didn't expect to see you... At least not until I got back to Hogwarts!" she said. It was great to see him again. He looked a little worn out. _Of course he does_, she thought. _It had just been a full moon._

"Yes, well, I was sent to make an earlier appearance," he said. " I'm supposed to tell you a couple of things..."

"Like what Professor?" she asked. She expected to be told a couple of things concerning her newfound Head Girl position, but something told her it had nothing to do with that.

"I'm still not used to hearing that again," he said instead, chuckling. "But it's concerning you being Head Girl... and what your mission is."

"Mission?"

That had to be some sort of joke. Missions were not left to her. They were left to people of the Order... or at least to Harry who knew plenty about missions. He was the one who had to go and persuade Slughorn to teach at Hogwarts and he was the one who went on that last mission with Professor Dumbledore...

"Yes, Hermione. You have a mission," said Professor Lupin. "Now, if you don't want to do this, we all understand, but we're really counting on you."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure I can do it," Hermione said confidently.

"Well, to start off, do you have any idea who the Head Boy is?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Erm... I've thought about it, but I'm still not sure," said Hermione, wondering why this was so important to her mission.

"Well, it's Draco Malfoy," said Professor Lupin.

"What?" she said, her eyes as big as saucers.

"We all thought it would be best if he was Head Boy this year."

"What? Why? He's a Death Eater!" said Hermione. They were all obviously under the Imperius curse if they actually thought _Malfoy_ was the best candidate.

"We know that Hermione. But we also know that he didn't kill Dumbledore because Snape did it for him. Even if Voldemort's wishes were for him to kill Dumbledore. That says something to us. I know you probably don't understand this or you just don't want to believe it, but we have reason to think Draco Malfoy does not have the evil heart his father has. We have spoken to Dumbledore's portrait. We know enough to draw this conclusion.

"But enough of that," he said, starting to get a gloomy look on his face. "You're mission is to get close to Draco Malfoy."

Hermione just sat there.

For once, she was completely speechless. This was a joke, right?

"This is serious Hermione."

_Well, there goes that theory,_ she thought.

"That is your mission," he said. He knew that if he were talking to any other "Golden-Trio" member, he'd be in trouble.

"Erm... How am I supposed to do this? And most importantly, _why_ am I supposed to do this?" said Hermione in her calmest tone of voice. It sounded unbelievably strained, but what did they expect from her? She'd just been asked to tame a dragon. An evil, egotistical dragon.

"Fair enough questions," said Professor Lupin, a little relieved. It could have gone a lot worse. "We're not asking you to fall in love with him, that would be a little to much to ask from you, but we do want him to be a sort of friend to you. The kind of friend that he would trust with anything... You see where I'm going with this Hermione?"

"You want me to be his friend... so that he can tell me what he's up to?" she asked. Truth be told, she had no idea where he was going with this.

"Not just that, but if he's close to you, you can help stop him from doing certain things. We know he doesn't really want to do anything Voldemort tells him to do, so if you're there being his close friend and telling him not to do something horrible, he might not do it.

"And that takes care of the 'why' question. The 'how' will be up to you to figure out. All I can tell you is that a lot is riding on this, so try not give up if things get too hard on you. You have to realize, and I'm sure you already know this, but since you, Harry, and Ron have not exactly been good friends with Malfoy, it's not going to be easy convincing him he can trust you. It's going to be hard work, but we're all routing for you; Harry and Ron included, I'm sure."

Just then, the compartment door opened.

"Speak of the devil," Hermione mumbled.

"What was that Granger?" asked Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Draco knew he had to be at King's Cross early to get instructions on what to do, but half an hour earlier? All the prefects needed to know was that they had power. Not that much power, but enough where people looked up to them. Enough power where they could tell those little miscreants what to do.

But that wasn't on his mind right now.

All that he could think about was the fact that he needed to begin his mission as soon as possible and he didn't know where to begin. He had thought about it.

Oh, how he had thought about it. But still he had nothing.

For now he had to get to the train. Fashionably late, of course.

He didn't have any of his parents this time. He was instructed to apparate and get in the train. He was old enough to get by on his own now and he didn't need his parents around. They only came for show anyway, and no one would be there to see them today. It was too early.

He walked up to the train and down to the assigned compartment.

He vaguely thought about who the Head Girl would be when he opened the compartment door and all wonder went out the window.

* * *

"I said, I can't believe you're Head Boy, Malfoy," replied Hermione. "Didn't you clean your ears this morning?"

"Didn't you clean your _blood_ this morning?" Draco fought back.

"Now, you two stop," said Professor Lupin, she gave a stern look at Hermione. She should know better now. "What kind of example are you two planning on setting on the students younger than yourselves?"

They both stayed quiet but looked at opposite directions.

"So why did we have to come here so early?" asked Draco. He didn't come here to sit in a quiet compartment with people he didn't like.

"Well, I'm filling in as your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher once again. Since I was going to be riding this train to Hogwarts, I was asked to give both of you instructions on your new Head Boy and Girl duties."

"You're joking, right?" said Draco. "They kick you out of Hogwarts and now you're back? McGonagall is gonna be loved for this."

"Lucky for you, whether she's liked or not, is none of your concern," said Professor Lupin firmly. He was trying to be nice to both of them because he didn't want to show favoritism, but this was harder than he thought.

Draco just stayed quiet. It was better to just stay quiet than to say something wrong to two people that weren't exactly fond of him. Plus, he was pretty sure his wand was inside his cloak... but wasn't completely positive. It could also be in the back pocket of his trousers...

"Now, as for what you two are supposed to do..."

Professor Lupin talked to them for a while about their duties until he was sure they had both settled down. It was a little amusing, though, how they each shot angry glares at one another every so often. Sure they disliked each other, but they had their issues because of Harry.

He talked and told them what to do and say to the Prefects until the train started to fill with students.

"Well, I think I've covered everything," said Professor Lupin. "Now I'll just let you two handle the rest. I'll see you at Hogwarts."

With that, he left the compartment, leaving Hermione and Draco by themselves.

"Well, it was horrible being here with you, so I'll just leave and let you take care of the Prefects..." said Draco starting to stand up.

"Oh no you don't," said Hermione standing up and grabbing his arm. "If I have to be tortured with this, you have to be tortured with this too."

He pulled his arm away, not because he was disgusted, but he was just a little taken aback.

Hermione seemed to realize he had even touched him and pulled her hand away.

"Fine. But I'm not going to say anything or answer any questions. And once this those stupid Prefects know what to do, I'm out of here," said Draco. He just wanted to be by himself. He had to think about a plan and how perfect it had been for Granger to become Head Girl. Well, not perfect, exactly, but it just seemed to work in his favor.

"Fine," said Hermione. She didn't fancy any extra time with Malfoy, either. She had to go and tell Harry and Ron about the mission as soon as possible to get their help. There would be a lot of arguing... but she had to get their opinion. Maybe they could come up with something, because she had _nothing._

Their compartment slowly filled with eager students. They had to endure a couple of torturing minutes with each other, though, where Draco twirled his wand in one hand (which turned out to be in his secret hiding spot; up his sleeve) and Hermione fixed her school skirt every way possible.

When the train had finally filled with people, and had started to move, they finally introduced themselves. Draco did it against his will, but no one needed his introduction anyway. They all knew who he was and where he came from.

After that painful encounter, they went ahead and started talking about what the Prefects needed to do... Hermione told them, and Draco just agreed.

When all the instructions were given out and they all filed out, once again, Hermione and Draco were left in the compartment by themselves. They stopped for a moment, each knowing they had to stay with the other in order for their plans to take effect early, but they just couldn't stay.

Draco just stepped out of the compartment and didn't look back.

Hermione could only sit there and watch him walk out of the compartment.

She finally walked out and was surprised to see Ginny and Luna there leaning against the doorframe. They had made it as Prefects this year, and she had just finished talking to them.

"What are you guys doing here? You're supposed to be patrolling," said Hermione. Sure they were friends, but they couldn't neglect their duties... especially on their first day. She was absolutely not going to let that happen.

"Calm down, Hermione," said Ginny impatiently. "We know what we have to do. We were just waiting for you. You are the expert around here..."

"Oh, shut up," said Hermione smiling. She knew Ginny was teasing her, but she couldn't help but smile every time she was reminded that this year she was Head Girl.

They went on to patrol for a while until Hermione could no longer wait to tell Harry, Ron, and Ginny the news about her mission. There was more teasing from Ginny about how she was neglecting her duties as Head Girl, but she could not waste any more time.

She reached their compartment just to find them stuffing their faces.

She waited a while to tell them, she didn't want food thrown at her, but she could hardly contain herself.

She was starting to feel really important.

When she finally got around to telling them, though, it was time for them to do their patrolling again.

"I'm so glad I don't have to do any of that this year," said Ron. "All that running around and telling those little first years what to do, starts to take a toll on you."

"Ron, you didn't do anything," said Ginny. "You made Hermione do everything for you because you couldn't."

"I didn't make her do anything," said Ron. "She wanted to do everything for me because I couldn't do anything right."

They all laughed.

Soon the girls left to patrol the halls again. They did a couple of rounds and came to the compartment again.

The talk about her mission would just have to wait.

* * *

A/N: Well, here is the long awaited update! (At least I hope it's long awaited... lol). I hope you guys liked it. Please review and tell me!!

If I don't get any reviews, I don't know if anyone is reading it... and that kind of makes me want to stop writing. _Plus, _I want your opinions on what should happen next in the story. I don't want to write something no one wants to read. If that was the case, Draco and Hermione would have already been married. lol.

Cheers,

-Miss Lost in Time-


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